State: Muslim family wronged at aquatic center in Lyons

October 15, 2010

A Muslim family was wrongly denied access to an aquatic center in Lyons last summer when employees told them their clothing violated the facility's rules, state officials said today.

In August 2009, Mahmoud Yaqub brought his wife, Faten Alaraj, and two young sons to Cermak Family Aquatic Center, 7600 W. Ogden Ave. in Lyons, which is run by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County.

Yaqub's wife was denied entry to the water park because she was wearing a long dress and headscarf instead of a swimsuit, according to a complaint filed with the Illinois Department of Human Rights. When she agreed to leave, Yaqub and his sons were also prevented from entering because park officials told them their swimsuits were not made of the proper material.

In the complaint, Yaqub claimed he was wearing basketball shorts and his sons were wearing children's swimsuits.

Meanwhile, friends and family who did not wear headscarves entered the water park fully clothed in regular attire without problems, according to the Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which filed thea complaint on behalf of the family with the Illinois Department of Human Rights.

The agency investigated the incident and in a report released today, concluded the family was wrongly denied "full and equal enjoyment" of the facility, and their denial of entry was "pretext for unlawful discrimination."

"This incident is a blatant example of anti-Muslim discrimination," CAIR-Chicago Civil Rights Director Christina Abraham said in a statement. "Everyone is entitled to the equal enjoyment of public places."

Steve Mayberry, a spokesman for the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, declined to comment.